T H E M E S S I A H R E V E A L S H I M S E L F
“And Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen Him and He is the One speaking with you.’” (John 9:37)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
The days of the ephemeral life of the man born blind succeeded one another in permanent darkness, without any change. He himself, seated by the side of the road with outstretched hand, depended on the goodwill and the philanthropic feelings of the passers-by in order to obtain his daily bread. Many of those, of course, would ridicule and others would avoid him. However, the blind man continued to live in hope.
On a specific day the Incarnate Son and Logos of God passed by with His Disciples. He then met the blind man. The Disciples sought to find out whose sin brought this man into the world blind. Was it a personal sin of his or that of his parents? The Lord assured them that the blindness of that man was not connected either to his sins or to his parents’ sins. Of course, the blind man was not sinless. Christ Himself only is without sin. Regarding man “no one is without stain even if his life lasts for just one day.” The trial given to this man by God was to reveal the Divine Power and Authority.
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Immediately afterwards the Creator of all, the Logos of God proceeded to perform a miracle. After making clay using His spit, anointed the blind man’s eyes with it and instructed him to go to the pool of Siloam where he washed his face and immediately his eyes obtained sight.
The neighbours and various other people who had in mind the presence of the blind man on the road, recognised him and began discussing if the one they saw was the blind man himself who used to beg or whether it was someone else. The previously blind man assured them that indeed it was himself. They then asked him how he gained his sight. The only thing he knew was that someone called Jesus made him well and he proceeded to describe to them what He did during his healing and that He sent him to wash his face in the pool of Siloam. Afterwards various curious people intervened and took him to the Pharisees.
The healing of the blind man occurred on a Sabbath. For this reason the blind man was faced with the curiosity of the Pharisees, who not only were unsatisfied but additionally they became accusers of Jesus since the miracle took place on the Sabbath. The previously blind man pointed out to them that his healer could not possibly be a sinful man but rather a prophet. The Pharisees still remained unsatisfied and approached his parents, who confirmed that the man was indeed their son but they themselves did not know how he received his sight nor who made him well.
It is necessary to comment that the parents of the blind man lived in fear of the Jews since the Jews announced that whoever confesses that Jesus is the real Messiah, would be excluded from the synagogue. The parents were not prepared to undergo this and therefore did not reveal the truth.
However, the Pharisees tried to examine the previously blind man again. The blind man faced them with courage and boldness, saying to them: Why do you ask again? Perhaps you want to become His disciples too? They then became furious and put him out of the synagogue, calling him a sinner.
Afterwards the Lord sought Him and comforted Him saying “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The previously blind man asked who was He in order to believe and he was then granted the exceptional revelation: “You have seen Him, and He is the One speaking with you.” The then blind man, filled with joy, exclaimed: “Lord, I believe!” and he worshipped Him. Glory and honour be to Jesus Christ through all ages. Amen!
C O M M U N I T Y N E W S
MEALS FOR THE ELDERLY: The meals for the elderly during the month of May were subsidised by the following: Christos Joannides in memory of his beloved departed Kyriacos, Costas, Maria, Christos, Sophia; Artemis Kakolyris in memory of her beloved husband, Panayiotis and the Ladies’ Auxiliary Society of PANTANASSA. We thank all the kind donors for their generosity and consideration towards this cause. We would like to bring to your attention that very few people have contributed towards the meals recently and the Ladies’ Auxiliary Society of PANTANASSA had to pay for most of these meals. As a result the funds of the Society have now dwindled and we need more volunteers to come forward so that we may be able to continue with this very worthy venture.
RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTIONS: The subscriptions for the Community (£50.00), Pantanassa (£25.00) and the Archdiocese Magazine (£15.00) are now due. If you have not already paid your subscriptions or wish to subscribe to any or all of these you may contact our Community’s offices.
ANNUAL SCHOOL RAFFLE: The annual school raffle has only reached the total of £6,200.00. We had hoped that up to now we would have raised at least £10,000. Unfortunately, only about 155 people purchased raffle tickets to the value of £40.00 each. Few other persons seem to be coming forward to support this venture. We, therefore, have no option but to begin selling at the churches each week. We are certain that with your support we will reach our target of £12,000.00 by the 3rd July 2011.
ST BARNABAS AND CYPRUS DAY: This year St Barnabas and Cyprus Day will be celebrated on Sunday, 5th June 2011. This is an annual event which is organised by St Barnabas Greek Orthodox Community in collaboration with
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the Association of the Greek Orthodox Communities. The Mayor of Haringey, local Councillors, Members of the Police Force, Members of Parliament and the Communities’ dignitaries and officials have been invited. Additionally, invitations were extended to representatives of various Associations and Societies and the Greek Embassy. His Grace, Athanasios, Bishop of Tropaeou, will preside at the Divine Liturgy, assisted by our community’s clergy. The Honourable Consul General of Cyprus, Mr Georgios Georgiou, will deliver the speech of the day. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in order to celebrate this special day with us.
THE FEAST OF ST BARNABAS: This year the feast of Saints Barnabas and Varholomeos will be celebrated on Friday, 10th June 2011, at the Church of St Barnabas. The reason for this is because on Saturday, 11th June, the actual day of the feast, is the Psychosavvato (Prayer dedicated to the Souls of the Departed).
END OF YEAR SCHOOL CONCERT: This year our end-of-year school concert will be on Sunday, 3rd July 2011. The pupils of St Barnabas Greek School have been working hard to present a rich and varied programme for our enjoyment. We trust that parents, guardians and friends of the school will be able to attend this notable event in order to experience the hard and systematic work of the School and to encourage the children to continue with their Greek education. The concert will be held in St Mary’s Church Hall and will begin at 4.00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you all on the day.
PANTANASSA EVENING: The Ladies’ Auxiliary Society of PANTANASSA will be having a get-together on Thursday, 7th July 2011 in order to replenish the Association’s funds. It is well known that throughout the year our Community accommodates many needy people who visit the Country for health reasons and many others come and ask for financial assistance. The evening will begin at 7.30 p.m. Tickets for this event are £20.00 each. We hope that as many of you as possible will be able to come.
ANNUAL CLERGY CONFERENCE: The annual Conference of the Clergy of the Holy Archdiocese was hosted by the Greek Communities of Nottingham and Mansfield. The Conference lasted three days, from the 10thto 12th May 2011. The main speaker was Professor Theodoros Yiangou from the Theological School of Salonica. The Professor is an expert in the Church’s Canonical Law. His Eminence, Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Gt Britain presided.